Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its Executive agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: For the most recent information available, I refer the hon. Member to the NIO Resource Accounts, a copy of which can be found at:
	http://www.nio.gov.uk/nio_resource_accounts_2006_-_2Q07.pdf

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what  (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services were provided by polling companies for the Government Equalities Office in financial year 2007-08, broken down by company.

Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office has not directly commissioned any polling companies to provide surveys, questionnaires and other services during the financial year 2007-08 but has worked with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the Citizenship Survey; worked with the Office for Disability Issues on the ONS Omnibus Survey and part funded research into the public sector duties carried out by Schneider Ross.

Apprentices: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprenticeships were  (a) started and  (b) completed in Vale of York constituency in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: Information is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Information for north Yorkshire and York is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Local authority( 1)  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Apprenticeship starts for the last three years
			 North Yorkshire(2) 4,469 3,489 3,228 
			 York 772 586 649 
			 
			 Apprenticeship completions for 2003-04 to 2005-06
			 North Yorkshire(2) 1,368 1,543 2,171 
			 York 153 226 343 
			 (1) Indicates a local authority that has more than 10 per cent. of apprentices funded by the MOD. (2) Data given allocate apprentices by their home postcode, where a learner is engaged in residential learning for the MOD they are allocated the LA of where they are based.

Cadets: Armed Forces

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his proposals for cadet forces will involve changes in the level of funding for existing combined cadet forces (CCF) units in schools; what estimate he has made of CCF funding per CCF member in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2000,  (c) 2007 and  (d) 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: I have been asked to reply.
	Cadet Forces, where affiliated to the MOD, are wholly funded by a combination of MOD resources and charitable funding raised by the Cadet Forces own endeavours. The present funding for the current MOD affiliated membership will not be affected by any initiative from the Department for Children, Schools and Families. CCF funding per CCF member is summarised in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of CCF Cadets  Funding per Cadet (£) 
			 2000 40,551 328 
			 2007 42,593 312 
			  Note: The change in funding is as the result of efficiency gains over the past three years such as improved property management. 
		
	
	The number of CCF members in 1997 is not known. Funding for 2010 is not yet allocated, nor has the number of likely Cadets been estimated.
	Our aspiration, shared by our colleagues in the DCSF, is to increase the opportunity for as many young people as possible, from all backgrounds, to experience the benefits of the Cadet experience.

Children's Centres

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Sure Start children's centres were open on  (a) 31 March and  (b) the latest date for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: On 31 March 2008 there were 2,906 Sure Start Children's Centres. As of 21 May there are 2,907 designated centres. Local authorities are currently planning the final phase of the delivery of children's centres so that by 2010 there will be 3,500 centres, one for every community.

Defence: Procurement

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding was allocated to the armed forces for expenditure on equipment in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: Outturn expenditure on the procurement of equipment (including both military and non-military equipment used by Service and civilian personnel) from 1997-98 has been published annually in UK Defence Statistics (UKDS) by the Defence Analytical Services Agency. UKDS can be found at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk
	and are available in the Library of the House.
	However, data is not consistent across this period because of internal changes in responsibility for Defence equipment procurement and the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB). Figures were produced on a cash basis until 2000-01. Full implementation of these accounting changes meant it was not possible to produce figures for the period 2001-02 to 2002-03 that were consistent for these years since the full adoption of RAB across the Department was not completed until 2003-04. A new data series using full RAB accounting has been produced annually since 2003-04. Outturn figures for 2007-08 will be published in UKDS 2008 later in the year.

Children

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of children reached a good level of development by scoring six points on all the assessment scales for personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy scales of the Foundation Stage Profile; and what progress has been made towards meeting this part of his Department's Public Service Agreement target;
	(2)  with reference to his Department's Public Service Agreement for 2005-2008 (Technical Note), page 9, what the agreed Public Service Agreement target is for the proportion of children to reach a good level of development at the end of the Foundation Stage by 2008;
	(3)  what proportion of children have achieved a good level of development by scoring six points on all the assessment scales for personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy scales of the Foundation Stage Profile in  (a) the 30 per cent. most disadvantaged super output areas and  (b) the rest of England in each year since 2003;
	(4)  what progress has been made towards meeting his Department's Public Service Agreement target 2.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Children Schools Families and the Department for Work and Pensions have joint responsibility for this public service agreement target, (which is PSA target 2 for DWP and PSA1 for DCSF). The target, set in 2005, is to improve children's levels of development in the communication language and literacy and personal, social and emotional development scales of the foundation stage profile so that by 2008; 53 per cent. of children reach a good level of development and; inequalities between the level of development achieved by children in the 30 per cent. most disadvantaged super output areas and the rest of England are reduced by four percentage points from 16 per cent. to 12 per cent. A good level of development is defined as scoring at least six points on all seven of the personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy assessment scales at the end of the foundation stage.
	The foundation stage profile was introduced in the academic year 2002-03 and was expected to take a number of years to bed in. Overall national summary data for FSP was first published in 2003 as 'Experimental Statistics' and in 2004 as 'National Statistics'. However, a background of ongoing improvements to teacher assessment and moderation mean it is difficult to draw meaningful statistical judgments about the progress made, particularly in super output areas, between 2003 and 2004. For this reason information on levels of good development has only been published since 2005. The figures are shown in the table.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Percentage of all children achieving a good level of development in maintained schools 48 44 45 
			 Percentage of children living in the 70% least deprived super output areas achieving a good level of development in maintained schools 54 50 51 
			 Percentage of children living in the 30% most deprived super output areas achieving a good level of development in maintained schools 37 33 35 
		
	
	Figures for 2005 and 2006 are based on sample data and are subject to sampling error. Figures for the gap between the most disadvantaged areas and the rest include only those children for whom postcode information was available. Improvements to moderation mentioned above have affected the reliability of 2005, 2006 and 2007 data; we expect 2008 results (due to be published in autumn 2008) to form a secure baseline and the PSA targets on early years foundation stage results for 2011 are to improve from this baseline.
	The final figures on the foundation stage profile in England were published in Statistical First Release 32/2007 "Foundation Stage Profile 2006/2007: National Results (Final)" on 11 October 2007, a copy of which is available on my Department's website
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000752/index.shtml

Children: Disabled

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children with a disability were categorised as materially deprived in each year since 1997; and what proportion of children in each age group this represented in each such year.

Stephen Timms: Being in material deprivation and low income is defined as being in a household with a household income of less than 70 per cent. of contemporary median income and a material deprivation score of greater than 25. Full details of the way scores are constructed are available in the public service agreement document 'Halve the number of children in poverty by 2010-11, on the way to eradicating child poverty by 2020' which can be found at
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/B/9/pbr_csr07_psa9.pdf
	The available data are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of children with a disability and material deprivation, UK in households in low income 
			   Million 
			   Number of children 
			 2004-05 0.2 
			 2005-06 0.1 
			  Source: Households Below Average Income , 2004-05 to 2005-06 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Children with a disability in households in low income and material deprivation as a proportion of all children by age band, UK 
			  Percentage 
			   Age 
			  0 to 4 5 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 18 
			 2004-05 1 1 2 1 
			 2005-06 1 1 2 1 
			  Notes: 1. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures is single financial years. 2. A child is defined as anyone aged under 16 or an unmarried 16 to 18 year old in full-time non-advanced education. 3. Information on households in low income and material deprivation is only available from 2004-05. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or "equivalised") for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. Low income and material deprivation is one of the three indicators for measuring child poverty. The other two measures are absolute low income, which includes households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the median income held constant in real terms from a 1998-99 baseline, and relative low income, which includes households with incomes below 60 per cent. contemporary median income. 6. Children with a disability are children with a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity, and who have a significant difficulty with day-to-day activities. Everyone in this group would meet the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), but these estimates do not reflect the total number of children covered by the DDA as the Family Resources Survey, the source of the HBAI series, does not fully collect this information. 7. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors. 8. Numbers of children have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 children, while proportions of children have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 9. Small year-on-year movements should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.  Source: Households Below Average Income, 2004-05 to 2005-06

Disabled

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with a  (a) disability and  (b) learning disability are employed by his Department.

Stephen Timms: The latest figures based on the position at 31 March 2008 are that 5,982 staff across the Department have declared that they are disabled. The figures are based on the numbers of staff who have voluntarily declared themselves as being disabled. However, we are aware that not all disabled staff declare their disability for departmental records, and the true figure may be higher than the figures shown. For example, the 2008 DWP Staff Survey (which is completed anonymously), showed that 9,977 of respondents considered themselves to have a long standing health condition or disability.
	The Department does not collect data on the number of people with a learning disability it employs, and to provide information on this could, only be at a disproportionate cost. Staff are encouraged to declare whether they consider themselves disabled, but are not asked to state the nature of the disability.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a person with  (a) a mental health condition and  (b) a drug or alcohol addiction claiming jobseekers allowance has access to (i) the Pathways to Work scheme and (ii) condition management programmes through the Pathways to Work scheme.

Stephen Timms: Pathways to Work is specifically designed to encourage recipients of incapacity benefits to consider opportunities for starting or returning to work. Jobseeker's allowance customers are, therefore, not eligible for Pathways to Work.
	Instead, jobseeker's allowance and other benefit customers with drug-related problems have access to the voluntary Progress2Work programme. Progress2Work provides, through specialist contractors, additional help for customers disadvantaged by their drug misuse. These specialists aim to support customers through provision, training and employment.
	Under the flexible new deal, beginning in October 2009, service providers can decide to offer condition management programmes as part of the tailored back-to- work action plans drawn up for longer-term jobseeker's allowance customers. Customers with a history of drug and alcohol misuse can currently also volunteer for early access to the New Deal Gateway and this arrangement will continue under the flexible new deal.

Personal Accounts Delivery Authority: Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the  (a) budgeted and  (b) current projected (i) running and (ii) set up costs of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority are in its first year of operation;
	(2)  how much has been spent on establishing and running the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority;
	(3)  whether he expects the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority to meet its objectives without exceeding its budget;
	(4)  what the  (a) original budget,  (b) current projected cost and  (c) cost to date of setting up personal accounts is.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the report from the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority, a report on the personal accounts delivery authority's plan for delivery . I am placing a copy of the report in the House Library

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) apprenticeships and  (b) advanced apprenticeships there were in (i) his Department and (ii) the agencies for which he is responsible in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: Six members of staff, employed within the Ministry of Justice undertook apprenticeships during the financial year 2007-08.
	The Ministry of Justice is participating in the Apprenticeships Pathfinder being organised by Government Skills, with an intake likely in September. Numbers are likely to be substantially larger than in previous years. We are also participating in the Civil Service West Midlands Apprenticeships pilot.

Prison Service: Safety

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are in place to protect prison staff from assault by prisoners.

David Hanson: Public and private sector prisons are each required to have a local violence reduction strategy, which involves regular analysis of problem areas, consideration of solutions and an action plan to reduce violence. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and improving personal safety for all. A good practice toolkit supports the violence reduction strategy and guides establishments to develop practical solutions, including environmental and physical measures as well as alternative ways of managing behaviour.
	Public and private sector prison staff receive the appropriate training to ensure they have required skills and knowledge to deal with potentially violent situations in prisons and protect themselves from assault.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Jack Straw) has supported the Prison Officer Association's Zero Tolerance Campaign to ensure prisons are a safer place to live and work.

Prisoners

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in adult prisons had previously been  (a) children in care,  (b) children in foster care and  (c) adopted children in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: In response to part  (a) of the question, I refer the hon. Member to my answer given on 29 April 2008,  Official Report, column 391W, to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws).
	Information on the total number of prisoners in all prison establishments in England and Wales who were in local authority care at some point when under the age of 16 is not centrally available.
	However, a Social Exclusion Unit report "Reducing re-offending by ex- prisoners" published in 2002 reported that 27 per cent. of the prison population had been taken into care as a child against an average across the general population of 2 per cent.
	In response to parts  (b) and  (c), there is no available information on which to provide an answer.

Prisoners Release: Reoffenders

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment since 1997 have been subsequently released and committed further crimes and been re-imprisoned.

Maria Eagle: To provide the information requested would require data matching between different sources of information, and manual checking of individual records which could be carried out only at disproportionate cost. Data migration for the Department's new database is currently under way and will be subject to data quality assurance. I hope to write to the hon. Member by the middle of June, to provide as much of the information requested as can be obtained reliably from the new database at that time.

Road Traffic Offences: Electronic Tagging

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the electronic tagging orders imposed during sentencing for road traffic offences have been issued in respect of  (a) driving while disqualified,  (b) drink driving and  (c) other offences since 1999.

David Hanson: The following table shows how many of the electronically monitored curfew orders imposed during sentencing for road traffic offences have been issued in respect of  (a) driving while disqualified,  (b) drink driving and  (c)other summary motoring offences since 1999, up to 2006
	Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, an electronically monitored curfew became one of a number of requirements of the new community order for adults that courts could impose for offences committed after 4 April 2005. Since its introduction courts have only recorded the number of community orders imposed rather than the requirements used. The table from 2005 therefore reflects the number of curfew orders for juveniles and a declining number of orders given to adults for offences committed before 4 April 2005.
	
		
			  Electronic tagging orders imposed during sentencing for road traffic offences, 1999  to  2006 
			   Driving while disqualified  Drink driving  Other summary driving offences  Other driving offences 
			 1999 61 30 35 402 
			 2000 141 62 30 716 
			 2001 199 92 58 1,092 
			 2002 437 168 107 2,060 
			 2003 759 305 245 3,177 
			 2004 1,040 541 395 5,055 
			 2005 666 371 556 5,183 
			 2006 171 101 104 2,892 
			  Note:  These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.   Source:  NOMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.

Post Office Network

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make a statement on progress on the post office network consultation.

Patrick McFadden: To date, 28 out of the network change programme's 47 area plans have gone out to public consultation and final decisions announced for 20 of them.

Royal Mail

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make a statement on Postcomm's proposal for the part-privatisation of Royal Mail.

Patrick McFadden: Postcomm's proposal that Royal Mail should have greater access to private capital was part of a submission to the independent Review of the postal services sector.
	It would not be appropriate to five a running commentary on points made in submissions to what is an independent review.
	The review panel is expected to report to the Secretary of State later this year.

EU Law

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the implementation of the recommendations of the Davidson review on implementation of EU legislation.

Patrick McFadden: All the Davidson review recommendations have either been implemented or are in the process of being implemented.
	 Insurance mediation directive
	In July 2007, legislation came into force to remove the insurance activities of freight forwarders and storage firms from the scope of Financial Services Authority insurance regulation, where the insurance activity relates to a commercial customer. HM Treasury will reconsider the case for extending the exemption to cover retail customers once codes of practice of sufficient standard are in place.
	The Financial Services Authority has made progress in addressing those recommendations on the insurance mediation directive for which it is responsible by publishing new, simplified insurance conduct of business rules in December 2007 that replaced a number of detailed prescriptive rules with greater reliance on principles; completing a review of the retail mediated activity return (RMAR) which will result in a 30 per cent. net reduction in the number of data elements required from end 2008; and publishing a consultation paper in March 2008 to seek views on proposals to reform the Client Assets Sourcebook with the intention to simplify the structure following the implementation of the markets in financial instruments directive.
	 MOT testing
	The Department for Transport intends to issue a consultation document in the near future.
	 Animal scientific procedures
	The Home Office has committed to reduce the administrative burdens arising from the regulation of animal experiments by at least 25 per cent. by 2010. So far, a standard wordings list has been posted on its website for use by personal licence applicants and licensees; fast track personal licence processes have been put in place; and a revised web-based Certificate of Designation form has been posted.
	 Close links
	The Financial Services Authority published a consultation paper on the close links requirements in December 2005
	(http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/cp/cp07_21.pdf)
	to examine whether there are opportunities for reducing the burdens on firms. HM Treasury is currently reviewing the application of the threshold conditions to firms not covered by the directive.
	 Consumer sales directive
	BERR has asked the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission to review the current legislation, with a view to recommending simplification and rationalisation where possible to make the law easier for all users to understand and use.
	 Fisheries
	The draft Marine Bill was published on 3 April 2008. Consultation on it and the impact assessment closes on 26 June 2008.
	 Waste and other regulatory regimes
	DEFRA and CLG have consulted on improving the interface between the planning and environmental permitting systems. Consultants are now developing a protocol involving the main regulators to deliver a more effective interface when carrying out their respective roles.
	Formal consultation on a revised suite of exemptions from environmental permitting is proposed for July 2008, to come into force in October 2009.
	The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007, which came into force on 6 April 2008, replace over 40 statutory instruments with a single set. This is expected to result in a reduction of administrative burden of £72.3 million over 10 years.

Internet: Halifax

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of households in Halifax with a broadband connection to the internet at the latest date for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: Figures for Halifax specifically are not available but the Ofcom "Nations and Regions" report published in May 2007 provided figures for the Yorkshire and Humber region. The report showed 100 per cent. of premises in the region connected to DSL enabled exchanges as well as 42 per cent. of premises able to access broadband through cable technology. Take-up of broadband within the region was at 42 per cent. of all adults in 2006, up from 34 per cent. in 2005 and that 57 per cent. of SMEs had broadband connections in 2006. In addition 87 per cent. of the region was covered by at least two mobile operators offering a 3G service, over which mobile broadband could be delivered.

Working Hours: Pregnancy

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the maximum number of hours is that an employer can require a pregnant employee to work; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 29 April 2008
	The maximum number of hours a pregnant woman can be required to work is 48 hours per week, unless she (the pregnant employee) has signed a waiver.
	However, this may be reduced if the hours of work pose a risk to the expectant mother or her unborn child.
	Employers have a duty to protect the health and safety at work of all employees, including new and expectant mothers and mothers who are breastfeeding. As part of this duty employers are required to carry out a specific risk assessment paying particular attention to risks that could affect the health and safety of the new or expectant mother or her child.
	Employers are obliged to do what is reasonably practicable to control risks such as making changes to the working conditions; hours of work or offer alternative suitable work. If none of these steps adequately reduces the risk the employee must be suspended from work on full pay to protect her and her un-born child.

Bus Services: Concessions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent officials are working on matters related to the determination of operator appeals connected with the national concessionary bus fare scheme; and what the average length of time has been between submission of appeal and determination;
	(2)  what recent assessment she has made of the consistency of appeal decisions in respect of operator appeals under the national concessionary bus fare scheme;
	(3)  what percentage of appeals have been decided  (a) fully and  (b) partly in favour of bus operators in respect of the 2007 national concessionary bus fare scheme; and how much has been awarded to bus operators to date;
	(4)  how many appeals have been registered by operators against the 2008 national concessionary bus fare scheme; and if she will place a list of those operators in the Library.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 19 May 2008
	There are the equivalent of around four full-time officials working on matters relating to the determination of bus operator appeals, including legal and economic specialists. There were also two independent decision makers appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport for the 2007-08 appeals although neither works full time. The average length of time between appeal submission and issue of a determination was 10 months. The issues are complex and it is imperative that each appeal is considered fairly, and this takes time.
	The Secretary of State has not made any assessment of the consistency of the appeal decisions. Determinations of appeals are made by independent decision makers appointed on her behalf. They consider each case on the basis of the evidence submitted by each applicant and the relevant travel concession authority (TCA), with professional economic and legal advice from officials in the Department.
	Appeals determinations in the year 2007-08 were either upheld, in which case the decision makers directed the TCA to modify their schemes to award additional reimbursement to the operator, or they were dismissed. To date, for 2007-08 appeals, 33 were upheld and 34 were dismissed. The decision makers are appointed to determine whether or not the arrangements in a TCA's concessionary travel scheme are appropriate with respect to reimbursement for the services provided by the applicant operator. Based on estimates of outturn data, around £6.5 million additional reimbursement was directed to be paid, in total, to operators whose appeals were successful in 2007-08.
	There were 102 appeals by bus operators regarding reimbursement arrangements in 2007-08, of which, 25 were withdrawn and three were not valid. Of the remaining 74, to date, 67 have been determined. The following is a list of operators who lodged appeals. Some operators had lodged appeals in more than one TCA. Two appeals have so far been lodged against 2008-09 schemes.
	Anglian Bus and Coach Ltd.
	Arriva Midlands
	Arriva North East Ltd.
	Bakers Coaches
	Bournemouth Transport Ltd.
	Bowers Coaches Ltd.
	Brighton and Hove Transport
	Brylaine Travel Ltd.
	Burtons Coaches Ltd.
	Castleways (Winchcombe) Ltd.
	Centrebus Ltd.
	Choice Travel
	Compass Travel (Sussex) Ltd.
	D and G Coach and Bus Ltd.
	East Kent Road Car Ltd. (Stagecoach in East Kent)
	East Midland Motor Services Ltd.
	Eastbourne Buses Ltd.
	Excel Passenger Logistics Ltd.
	F. Hunt (Coach Hire) Ltd.
	First Devon and Cornwall Ltd., jointly with First Hampshire and Dorset Ltd. And First Somerset and Avon Ltd.
	First Hampshire and Dorset Ltd.
	First PMT Ltd.
	First South Yorkshire Ltd.
	Go West Midlands Ltd.
	Hants and Dorset Bus (Damory Coaches)
	Hodson Coaches Ltd.
	Konect Bus Ltd.
	Leicester City Bus (First Leicester)
	Lincolnshire Road Car (Stagecoach in Lincolnshire)
	Marchwood Motorways
	MAS Special Engineering Ltd.
	MetroBus Ltd.
	Midland Red South Ltd. (Stagecoach in Warwickshire)
	Norfolk Green (Go West)
	North Shropshire Community Transport Ltd.
	Northampton Transport Ltd. (First Northampton)
	Nu-Venture Coaches Ltd.
	Oxford Bus Co.
	P. C. Coaches of Lincoln Ltd.
	Plymouth City Transport
	Powells Bus Ltd.
	Pulham and Sons (Coaches) Ltd.
	Red and White Services Ltd. (Stagecoach in South Wales)
	Regal Busways
	Sleafordian Taxi Co. Ltd.
	Solent Blue Line
	Stagecoach Devon
	Stagecoach East Midlands
	Stagecoach in Cambridgeshire (Cambus)
	(Stagecoach in Lincolnshire
	Stagecoach in Oxfordshire
	Stagecoach in Yorkshire
	Stagecoach North West
	Stagecoach South
	Stagecoach West
	Stagecoach Yorkshire
	Stephensons of Essex Ltd.
	T. M. Travel Ltd.
	Thames Travel (Wallingford) Ltd.
	Thamesdown Ltd.
	Tourist Coaches
	Trent Barton Buses
	United Counties Omnibus Co. Ltd. (Stagecoach East)
	W. H. Nelson Coaches (Wickford) Ltd.
	West Midlands Travel Ltd.
	Wilfreda Luxury Coaches Ltd.
	Wilts and Dorset Bus

Council Tax: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties there were in each council tax band in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in each year between 2003 and 2007; and how many in each band were  (a) empty and  (b) exempt because all residents were students in each year.

Iain Wright: Details of the number of dwellings in each council tax band in Newcastle upon Tyne in each year between 2003 and 2007 are shown in the following table. Also shown for each year are the total number of properties that were either empty or exempt from council tax because all residents were students. It is not possible to break these figures down by council tax band.
	
		
			  Number of dwellings 
			  £ 
			  Valuation band  Valuation band range  (£)  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 A Under 40,000 72,423 72,183 71,988 71,849 71,944 
			 B 40,001 to 52,000 17,379 17,389 17,441 17,514 17,675 
			 C 52,001 to 68,000 16,674 16,923 17,110 17,134 17,341 
			 D 68,001 to 88,000 7,464 7,603 7,709 7,774 7,972 
			 E 88,001 to120,000 3,668 3,783 3,840 3,866 3,923 
			 F 120,001 to 160,000 1,688 1,718 1,782 1,799 1,824 
			 G 160,001 to 320,000 1,310 1,360 1,363 1,379 1,433 
			 H Over 320,000 114 115 113 115 117 
			 Total  120,720 121,074 121,346 121,430 122,229 
			 Empty dwellings  7,275 6,141 5,829 5,595 5,710 
			 Student exemptions  5,035 5,830 5,924 6,035 6,453 
		
	
	The dwellings data are provided by the Valuation Office Agency while the student exemption and empty dwellings data are as reported annually to Communities and Local Government on the CTB and CTB(Supplementary) forms that are completed by all billing authorities in England. All the data relate to particular dates in the autumn
	of each year.

Homeless

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of people living  (a) in hostels,  (b) in bed and breakfasts,  (c) in squats and  (d) with friends or family members on a non-permanent basis.

Iain Wright: holding answer 20 May 2008
	The Department does not hold a total figure centrally.
	The Homeless UK project, run by the Resource Information Service (RIS), provides information on hostels and supported accommodation for homeless people in England. There are 1,204 accommodation projects with over 57,000 bed spaces. 246 are direct access hostels with 9,000 bed spaces. Direct access hostels are short-stay emergency services aimed at rough sleepers and those in need of immediate accommodation. Further information on the other types of hostels covered by RIS is not yet available.
	RIS does not cover accommodation provided under statutory homelessness provisions. Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level. Data on the number of households living in temporary accommodation secured by local housing authorities in England under the homelessness legislation is available in our quarterly statistical release, which provides details on types of temporary accommodation including hostels and bed and breakfast hotels. The latest release, published on 10 March 2008 on the Department of Communities and Local Government's website and placed in the Library, contains temporary accommodation data up until the end of December 2007. At the end of December 2007, there were :
	3,530 households in bed and breakfast hotels; and
	6,620 households in hostels (including women's refuges),
	secured as temporary accommodation under the homelessness legislation.
	Data on squats or accommodation provided by friends or family is not held centrally.

Housing: Low Incomes

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many families were on social housing waiting lists in each region of England in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: holding answer 15 May 2008
	Information on the number of households on local authorities' waiting lists broken down by Government office region and local authority for 1997 to 2007 is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600 at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/l44458.xls
	Copies of this table have been deposited in the Library of the House.
	Information about social housing waiting lists is collected in respect of households rather than families.

Mortgages

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of  (a) the number and  (b) the percentage of new mortgages taken out in each year between 2003 and 2007 with a loan to value ratio in excess of 100 per cent.

Iain Wright: Data on mortgages for house purchase is available from the Regulated Mortgage Survey which is supplied to Communities and Local Government by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. As the survey is a sample, data on the total number of new mortgages is unavailable from this source. However deriving proportions from the survey and applying them to the total number of new mortgages in the UK, as published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, an estimate of the total number can be provided.
	The estimated number and proportion of new mortgages in the UK with a loan to value ratio in excess of 100 per cent. for the years 2003 to 2007 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number  Proportion (%) 
			 2003 27,100 2.2 
			 2004 20,000 1.6 
			 2005 17,000 1.7 
			 2006 20,800 1.9 
			 2007 18,500 1.8 
			 Source:  Regulated Mortgage Survey and the Council of Mortgage Lenders. 
		
	
	Loan to value has been calculated using the mortgage advance against the purchase price which may not be the same as the value of the property.
	Some mortgage advances also include fees on top of the advance required for the purchase of the property. Hence some 100 per cent. loan to value mortgages will have been included in the figures above for mortgages in excess of 100 per cent. of value.

Crime: Young People

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent, and on what projects, in  (a) West Chelmsford constituency and  (b) Chelmsford Local Authority area to deter youths from committing crimes in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 20 May 2008
	Information on the specific projects and spending for projects to deter youth offending in West Chelmsford constituency and Chelmsford local authority area are not held centrally in the Home Office.
	The Essex Youth Offending Service (YOS) is the main vehicle for providing these prevention services to Chelmsford. The Essex YOS use early intervention programmes to prevent young people from entering the youth justice system. These interventions are specifically funded by the Youth Justice Board until March 2011 to work with children and young people aged between eight and 13 years who have been identified by at least two agencies as presenting an increased risk of offending.
	Essex YOS have estimated the total spend on these activities from 2005 forecast through to 2009.
	
		
			   Total spend (£) 
			 2005-06 14,340 
			 2006-07 39,032 
			 2007-08 39,419 
			 2008-09 39,419 
		
	
	The total costs provide a project worker and manager, a senior practitioner, a parenting coordinator and parenting assistant.
	In addition to this prevention work by Essex YOS there are also various other agencies who within their remit contribute towards prevention work for young people in the Chelmsford area, such as: Chelmsford Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP), Chelmsford council, Essex police, Essex county council and some voluntary sector agencies. The Home Office and Essex YOS do not hold the information on their spending.

Missing Persons: Databases

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1084W, on missing persons, what progress has been made by the Government via the National Policing Improvement Agency's Missing Persons Bureau in identifying best practice in capturing, recording and sharing data relating to missing persons; how much has been allocated to this initiative for 2008-09; and what the timetable is for completion of a national system for storage and retrieval of data on persons reported missing.

Tony McNulty: The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) launched the Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) on the 1 April 2008.
	The requesting of national data from police forces will be subject to the requirement laid out in the NPIA's developing strategic assessment work with police forces and stakeholders, which is yet to be finalised and circulated for consultation. The classification of this data will again be dependent on the developing requirement of the strategic assessment.
	At present, there is no national requirement for police forces to use electronic management systems or to provide the MPB with their data so that the MPB can incorporate it into their national database of missing persons. The MPB is working to develop a comprehensive set of data on missing persons.
	The MPB is using the same electronic case management system as the charity Missing People. Work is in progress by the software manufacturer to enable electronic sharing of data between the MPB and the charity. Work is also in progress to enable electronic data transfer from police forces to the MPB.
	Current guidance advises the transfer of information to the MPB within 14 days of a person going missing. Proposed changes to the guidance are likely to advise the transfer of information to the MPB within 24 hours for very high risk; 72 hours for high/medium risk; and seven days for low risk missing people, where this transfer can be done by automatic electronic means.
	The MPB's existing budget has been established to incorporate this element of work, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2008.

Missing Persons: Databases

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008,  Official Report, column 344W, on missing persons: databases, which of the police force databases for the management and recording of missing persons data referred to in the answer can share information electronically in real time with each other such database listed in the Answer.

Tony McNulty: The information technology systems used by Dyfed-Powys police and Gwent police are able to share missing persons information with each other.
	The 20 police forces that have the community policing and case tracking (COMPACT) computer system all have the facility to export data to each other, should a missing persons investigation move locations.
	At present there is no national requirement for police forces to use electronic management systems or for their systems to share information with one another.
	The Police National Computer is a live system accessible by all police forces 24 hours a day, which enables them to share information relating to missing persons. The Police National Database (PND), being delivered by the National Policing Improvement Agency-led IMPACT programme, will provide a capability for all police forces to electronically share information from their main local systems with each other. The programme is in the process of asking forces for details of what sort of information from which police force systems they plan to provide to the PND. Deployment of the PND is scheduled to commence in 2010.

Missing Persons: Young People

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2008,  Official Report, column 346W, on missing persons: young people, 
	(1)  if she will request from each police force the number of people reported to that force as missing in 2007;
	(2)  if she will request from each police force the number of people reported to that force as missing in 2007 who were  (a) classified as a vulnerable adult,  (b) aged (i) between 18 and 16, (ii) 15 and 12 and (iii) under 12 years of age,  (c) in care and  (d) disabled.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 12 May 2008
	 The Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) is currently making an assessment of the current status of the issue of missing persons in conjunction with its partners and stakeholders, including Missing People and the Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group.
	At present, there is no national requirement for forces to provide this data, or use electronic management systems. The requisition of data from all police forces is subject to the requirement set out in the National Policing Improvement Agency's developing strategic assessment work with forces and stakeholders, which is yet to be finalised and circulated for consultation.
	The MPB has requested the number of missing persons records from all United Kingdom police forces for 2007 split by age and gender. The majority of police forces in the United Kingdom have some sort of electronic system to manage their missing persons cases, however, many of these systems are designed specifically for case management recording and do not have integral statistical packages.

Missing Persons: Young People

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008,  Official Report, column 344W, on missing persons database, if she will request from each police force the number of children and young people reported missing to the police  (a) under the age of 16 and  (b) aged 17 and 18 years, broken down by local authority area.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 16 May 2008
	The Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) is currently making an assessment of the current status of the issue of missing persons in conjunction with its partners and stakeholders, including the Missing People charity and the Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group.
	At present, there is no national requirement for forces to provide this data, or use electronic management systems. The requisition of data from all police forces is subject to the requirement set out in the National Policing Improvement Agency's developing strategic assessment work with forces and stakeholders, which is yet to be finalised and circulated for consultation.
	The MPB has requested the number of missing persons records from all United Kingdom police forces for 2007 split by age and gender. Data broken down by local authority area is not available, as police force boundaries are not all coterminous with local authority boundaries. The majority of police forces in the United Kingdom have electronic systems to manage their missing persons cases. However, many of these systems are designed specifically for case management recording and do not have integral statistical packages.

Police: Databases

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crime scene marks are outstanding on police databases.

Tony McNulty: As at 25 April 2008, the IDENT1 database contained 1,696,286 unidentified crime scene marks—these being a combination of palm and finger marks. This represents the accumulation of such marks over the years from the various systems that migrated into NAFIS in 1999, which was then superseded by IDENT1 in 2005.

Police: Recruitment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) men and  (b) women were recruited by Essex Police in each year since 1997, broken down by age.

Tony McNulty: The requested data on age breakdowns is not collected centrally. The available data have been collected since 2002-03 and are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officer female and male Recruits( 1)  to Essex police from 2002-03 to 2006-07( 2)  (FTE)( 3) 
			   Female recruit  Male recruit 
			 2002-03(4) 10 30 
			 2003-04 83 142 
			 2004-05 84 192 
			 2005-06 76 148 
			 2006-07 121 185 
			 (1 )Recruits included those officers joining as police standard direct recruits and those who were previously special constables. This excludes police officers on transfers from other forces and those rejoining. (2 )Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. Comparable data are not available prior to 2002-03. (3) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between total and the sums of the constituent items. (4 )Excludes quarters 1, 2, and 3 data not available.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances have been reported to her Department of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 powers being used for cases unrelated to terrorism or serious crime.

Tony McNulty: The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 covers a number of different covert investigatory powers used by a broad spectrum of public bodies for a variety of purposes. This includes, but is not limited to, Secretary of State authorisation of intrusive techniques by intelligence and law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism and serious crime. In instances where Secretary of State authorisation is not required—such as the police use of informants, local council use of telephone billing records or regulatory body use of surveillance—there is no requirement to report the exercise of these powers to the Secretary of State. Authorisation of all these powers is subject to regular inspection by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Chief Surveillance Commissioner who publish annual reports on their findings. The most recent publications have been placed in the House Library.

Surveillance: Local Authorities

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library a copy of each inspection report produced by surveillance inspectors of the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners relating to local authority activities in the last 12 months;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the form that local authorities must complete to be authorised to conduct a directed surveillance operation;
	(3)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance given to local authorities by  (a) her Department and  (b) the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners on surveillance;
	(4)  how many local authorities are authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to undertake surveillance; and for what purposes;
	(5)  if she will make a statement on the appropriateness of local authorities undertaking surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in relation to whether families live in school catchment areas.

Tony McNulty: The Office of Surveillance Commissioners is independent of Government and it is a matter for them whether to publish their inspection reports on individual local authorities. There are no plans currently to do so. However, the annual reports of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner are published and copies are in the House Library.
	The most recent version of the form available to local authorities for the authorisation of directed surveillance is available together with other standard forms applicable to covert investigation on the Home Office security website. The Home Office security website and the website of the Office of Surveillance Commissioners contain copies of the relevant codes of practice and other guidance to local authorities, including the annual reports of the Office of Surveillance Commissioners. The websites can be accessed at the following addresses:
	http://security.homeoffice.gov.uk; and
	http://www.surveillancecommissioners.gov.uk
	There are 468 primary councils, excluding parish and community councils, which are able to authorise directed surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. That Act specifies that they are able to use directed surveillance for the purpose of preventing or of detecting crime or disorder and this includes fraud. The powers are used in the exercise of their regulatory responsibilities in such areas as investigating trading standards, housing and planning matters, benefit fraud and education services.
	It would be unhelpful to comment on specific cases but, generally, determining whether a family lives in a school's catchment area is a proper regulatory function that a local education authority may undertake. In deciding whether to authorise directed surveillance, the authorising officer in the local authority is required to be satisfied in each case that this is both necessary and proportionate to what is sought to be achieved by carrying it out. This will include whether the information could reasonably be obtained by any other means. Local authority use of directed surveillance powers is subject to regular inspection by the independent Office of Surveillance Commissioners. Anyone who believes that they have been unlawfully targeted by a public authority's use of covert investigatory powers can apply to the independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal to investigate their claim. The Tribunal can be contacted at PO Box 33220, London SW1H 9ZQ. Its telephone number is 020 7035 3711.

Telephone Tapping

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will estimate the number of times unauthorised monitoring of telephone conversations has taken place since 2005;
	(2)  how many times Ministers authorised  (a) telephone tapping and  (b) telephone tapping of solicitors' conversations with their clients in 2007;
	(3)  how many times the monitoring of solicitors' conversations with their clients has been authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for the independent Interception of Communications Commissioner. The Commissioner's annual published reports on his findings are available in the Library of the House.

Care Homes

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were in full-time  (a) residential and  (b) nursing care at the latest date for which information is available; and what proportion of people in each category were in receipt of means-tested financial support from public funds.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the residential and nursing care placements funded partially or fully by councils with adults social services responsibilities (CASSRs) is collected on the annual SR1 form and published by the Information Centre for health and social care. Data for placements not funded by CASSRs is not collected centrally.
	The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Council supported residents in permanent registered residential and nursing care by type of care( 1) , England, as at 31 March 2007 
			  Type of care  Residential  Nursing 
			 Residents aged 18 and over 163,235(2) 68,2702 
			 (1) Figures do not include residents in adult placements. (2) Rounded figures.  Source: SRI form, table one.

Colorectal Cancer

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths resulting from colorectal cancers there were in each year between 2002 and 2007 in each region; what per capita figure for the whole population this figure represents; and what five year survival rates were in each year in each region.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 22 May 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths resulting from colorectal cancers there were in each year between 2002 and 2007 in each region; what per capita figure for the whole population this figure represents; and what five year survival rates were in each year in each region. (206692)
	The tables attached provide the number of deaths where colorectal cancer was the underlying cause of death in each English government office region by sex (table 1), and age standardised mortality rates for each English government office region by sex (table 2), for 2002 to 2006 (the latest year available).
	The latest relevant five year survival rates that are available are five year age-standardised relative survival rates by government office region, for cancer of the colon, for adult patients diagnosed during 1997-1999 and followed up to the end of 2004. These figures, and comparable figures for patients followed up to the end of 2002 and 2003, are available to download from the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=11991
	Five year survival rate figures are not available for colorectal (bowel) cancer or cancer of the rectum.
	
		
			  Table 1. counts of deaths where colorectal cancer was the underlying cause of death,( 1)  English government office regions, 2002-06( 2,3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			  Sex  Region  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Male North East 421 416 400 466 414 
			  North West 1,012 975 1,028 1,024 982 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 758 725 700 726 716 
			  East Midlands 618 665 608 612 596 
			  West Midlands 767 770 821 797 782 
			  East of England 749 759 789 750 761 
			  London 772 733 675 647 696 
			  South East 1,089 1,073 1,106 1,124 1,138 
			  South West 799 767 819 792 788 
			
			  England 6,985 6,883 6,946 6,938 6,873 
			
			 Female North East 340 328 336 324 292 
			  North West 836 815 799 858 815 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 643 612 604 576 581 
			  East Midlands 542 531 518 494 486 
			  West Midlands 632 626 636 643 647 
			  East of England 732 674 706 661 664 
			  London 696 663 721 642 653 
			  South East 1,027 1,062 1,002 1,049 1,118 
			  South West 753 708 710 739 739 
			
			  England 6,201 6,019 6,032 5,986 5,995 
			 (1) Cause of death for colorectal cancer was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C18-C20. (2)( )Based on boundaries as of 2008. (3)( )Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. Age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population( 1,2)  where colorectal cancer was the underlying cause of death,( 3)  English government office regions, 2002-06( 4,5) 
			  Rate per 100,000 population 
			2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Sex  GOR  Rate  95% CI  Rate  95% CI  Rate  95% CI  Rate  95% CI  Rate  95% CI 
			 Male North East 28 (25-30) 27 (24-30) 25 (23-28) 29 (26-31) 25 (23-27) 
			  North West 25 (24-27) 24 (23-26) 25 (24-27) 25 (23-26) 23 (22-25) 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 26 (24-28) 24 (22-26) 23 (21-24) 23 (21-25) 22 (21-24) 
			  East Midlands 24 (22-26) 25 (23-27) 23 (21-24) 22 (20-24) 21 (19-22) 
			  West Midlands 24 (22-26) 24 (22-26) 25 (24-27) 24 (22-25) 23 (21-25) 
			  East of England 22 (21-24) 22 (20-23) 22 (20-23) 21 (19-22) 20 (19-22) 
			  London 23 (21-24) 22 (20-23) 20 (18-21) 19 (17-20) 20 (18-21) 
			  South East 22 (21-23) 21 (20-22) 21 (20-23) 21 (20-23) 21 (20-23) 
			  South West 23 (22-25) 22 (20-23) 23 (21-24) 21 (20-23) 21 (19-22) 
			 
			  England 24 (23-24) 23 (22-24) 23 (22-23) 22 (22-23) 22 (21-22) 
			 
			 Female North East 15 (13-17) 14 (13-16) 14 (13-16) 14 (13-16) 13 (11-14) 
			  North West 14 (13-15) 14 (13-14) 14 (13-15) 15 (14-16) 14 (13-15) 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 15 (14-16) 14 (13-15) 13 (12-14) 13 (12-14) 13 (12-14) 
			  East Midlands 15 (14-16) 15 (14-17) 14 (13-15) 14 (12-15) 13 (12-14) 
			  West Midlands 14 (13-15) 14 (13-15) 14 (13-15) 14 (13-15) 13 (12-15) 
			  East of England 15 (14-16) 14 (13-15) 15 (14-16) 13 (12-14) 13 (12-14) 
			  London 14 (13-15) 13 (12-14) 15 (14-16) 13 (12-14) 13 (12-14) 
			  South East 14 (13-15) 14 (13-15) 14 (13-14) 14 (13-15) 15 (14-16) 
			  South West 15 (14-16) 14 (13-15) 13 (12-14) 14 (13-15) 14 (13-15) 
			 
			  England 14 (14-15) 14 (14-14) 14 (14-14) 14 (13-14) 13 (13-14) 
			 (1) Age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. (2) Confidence intervals (CIs) are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. (3) Cause of death for prostate cancer was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C18-C20. (4) Based on boundaries as of 2008. (5) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Health Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government have taken to make NHS services more personalised.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table summarises the recent developments to make national health service services more personalised. The Government are taking forward Lord Darzi's vision for personalised care as set out in his interim report, "Our NHS, our future", copies of the interim report are available in the Library. Lord Darzi's final report will be published in the summer.
	
		
			  Policy/initiative  What's been done 
			 Choice and personalisation With effect from 1 April 2008: 
			  most patients who are referred for elective care will be able to choose to be treated by any NHS funded provider—in essence, any provider that holds a standard NHS contract. This includes NHS foundation trusts, NHS acutes and many independent sector providers and their hospitals. This is free choice; 
			  we also expect primary care trusts (PCTs) to improve care for people with long-term conditions (LTCs) and to ensure more choices for these patients. We expect PCTs to roll out choice to all people in their area with an LTC, with local flexibility on the pace and priorities, and we have supported this by publishing a model of care for long-term conditions, embedded in effective care planning, that provides good practice examples aimed at reducing inequalities; and 
			  PCTs are taking forward commitments to introduce choice of services for maternity. 
			   
			 Care planning We are planning to issue a framework for commissioners in June 2008, which will describe care planning as a process, centred around the person, which supports and promotes personalisation. During 2008, we will bring forward a patients' prospectus that sets out how we will extend to all 15 million patients with a chronic or long-term condition access to a choice of "active patient" or "care at home" options—clinically appropriate to them and supported by the NHS. 
			   
			 Information Prescriptions (IPs) IPs are being introduced for everyone with a LTC which will guide them to relevant and reliable sources of information to allow them to feel more in control and better able to manage their condition. 
			   
			 NHS Choices NHS Choices is the NHS's online service for the public—the digital wing of the NHS. Launched in 2007, it is a response to the 21(st) century challenges of delivering high-quality personalised services for all. It is regularly updated to provide more information to patients. 
			   
			 Choice and mental health We are committed to giving people with mental health problems choice and a more personalised service, including making more information available about mental illness to help people manage their own care. In the last year, work has been on-going, both locally and nationally, to increase the level of choice offered to people with mental health problems.

Health Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government intend to take to encourage primary care trusts to be more responsive to their local communities.

Ann Keen: The World Class Commissioning Programme aims to dramatically transform the way health and care services are commissioned in this country. As commissioners, primary care trusts (PCTs) act on behalf of the public and patients. They are responsible for investing funds on behalf of their communities, and building local trust and legitimacy through the process of engagement with their local population. In order to make world class commissioning decisions that reflect the needs, priorities and aspirations of the local population, commissioners will need to engage with the public, and actively seek the views of patients, carers and the wider community. Decisions should be made with a strong mandate from the local population and other partners.
	The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 contained important measures designed to strengthen the patient and public involvement system in England, including the introduction of local involvement networks (LINks) and the updated duty on NHS bodies to involve users of health services.
	The Act established duties on health and social care services-providers—including PCTs—to respond to LINks when they report on the needs and experiences of local people in respect of their health and social care services.
	LINks, together with the new duty on national health service bodies to involve, and to report on consultations, will play a vital role in encouraging and enabling a greater range of people to influence the commissioning and provision of health and social care—bringing real accountability to the whole system, from commissioning to front-line care.
	All of these changes are aimed at promoting open and transparent communication between communities and the health service, and will develop trust and confidence, increasing accountability to local people.

Hospitals: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much revenue was generated by charges imposed upon  (a) staff,  (b) patients and  (c) others for the use of car parks at (i) Broomfield and (ii) St John's hospitals in Chelmsford in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Hospital car parking charges are decided locally by individual trusts to help cover the cost of running and maintaining a car park. All trusts should have exemption and concessionary schemes in place to ensure that patients and carers who visit hospital regularly are not disadvantaged. They should also have sustainable public transport plans in place for staff and visitors.
	The East of England Strategic Health Authority advises that the Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust provide 15 minutes free parking to allow people to be dropped off and picked up at the hospital. In addition, it provides free parking to anyone holding a local authority blue disabled badge and offers reduced priced tickets to frequent users and a weekly ticket for longer-term users.
	Data on the gross income that national health service trusts receive from car parking charges paid by staff and visitors has been collected since 2000. These data are provided by the NHS on a voluntary basis and have not been amended following their collection, nor have they been actively checked by the Department and therefore cannot be confirmed to be accurate or complete.
	Information in respect of Broomfield and St John's hospitals in Chelmsford is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Total gross income from staff parking  Total gross income from patient and visitor parking 
			  Broomfield Hospital   
			 2002-03 85,386 423,783 
			 2003-04 31,851 295,075 
			 2004-05 51,366 503,418 
			 2005-06 62,383 598,525 
			 2006-07 89,000 689,740 
			
			  St. John ' s Hospital   
			 2002-03 28,462 141,261 
			 2003-04 13,650 126,461 
			 2004-05 12,916 120,645 
			 2005-06 12,569 128,913 
			 2006-07 2,247 162,214

Social Services: Learning Disability

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 1023-24W, on social services, how many people of working age with a learning disability in each local authority area received state funded social care support in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: The number of clients receiving services during a year is collected via table P1 of the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care (RAP) return. The return was first collected from all councils in 2000-01 by the Department and the latest year for which data are available is 2006-07, now collected by the Information Centre for health and social care.
	The following table shows the estimated number of service users whose primary client type is aged 18-64 with learning disabilities during the period for each council with adult social services responsibilities in England.
	There are some issues to be aware of when comparing the data over time:
	since 2002-03, clients who were formally in receipt of higher rates of income support under the Department for Work Pensions preserved rights (PR) scheme and who transferred to council support on 8 April 2002 have been included in the RAP return. Clients that were in receipt of preserved rights but who were already being partially supported by councils were previously included in the data and are not considered as clients formerly in receipt of preserved rights. This mainly effects clients in residential care; and
	guidance relating to clients receiving services was restated for 2004-05 to only include clients who are assessed by social services and have a care plan. In previous years, some councils included clients receiving services from grant-funded organisations without a community care assessment and therefore the 2004-05 data are not comparable to previous years. Additional clarification was also given on the recording of some types of services. These amendments mainly affect clients receiving community-based services.
	
		
			  Number of clients whose primary client type is aged 18-64 with a learning disability receiving services during the period by year—England, 1 April to 31 March 
			  Rounded numbers 
			Total number of clients receiving services 
			   Councils with social services responsibilities  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03( 1)  2003-04( 1)  2004-05( 1,2)  2005-06( 1,2)  2006-07( 1,2) 
			   England 101,000 101,000 113,000 116,000 117,000 122,000 125,000 
			  
			   North-east
			   Shire counties
			 116 Durham 1,115 1,260 1,365 1,525 1,560 1,535 1,620 
			 104 Northumberland 965 860 855 1,060 1,080 1,120 1,205 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 117 Darlington 225 270 245 245 245 245 240 
			 111 Hartlepool 245 245 240 260 255 275 280 
			 112 Middlesbrough 580 575 425 370 410 450 455 
			 113 Redcar and Cleveland 360 300 340 330 350 365 355 
			 114 Stockton-on-Tees — 350 355 355 350 425 500 
			  
			   Metropolitan districts
			 106 Gateshead 400 420 420 460 465 450 480 
			 107 Newcastle upon Tyne 520 505 835 975 600 920 780 
			 108 North Tyneside — 515 470 690 455 490 560 
			 109 South Tyneside — 275 — — 350 520 490 
			 110 Sunderland 535 605 585 635 640 635 740 
			  
			   North-west
			   Shire counties
			 320 Cheshire 1,350 1,175 1,475 1,720 1,610 1,635 1,635 
			 102 Cumbria 610 875 655 1,000 880 925 1,080 
			 323 Lancashire 2,075 2,050 2,265 2,500 2,720 2,875 3,025 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 324 Blackburn 445 395 265 260 245 300 330 
			 325 Blackpool 275 280 420 400 385 380 410 
			 321 Halton 265 270 320 355 355 370 370 
			 322 Warrington 375 400 530 380 390 425 420 
			  
			   Metropolitan districts
			 304 Bolton 465 500 570 490 565 570 575 
			 305 Bury 245 310 350 355 500 405 340 
			 315 Knowsley 390 495 500 485 515 515 550 
			 316 Liverpool 755 820 865 885 1,535 1,155 1,225 
			 306 Manchester — — 1,165 1,260 1,275 1,300 1,380 
			 307 Oldham 450 655 670 690 695 635 600 
			 308 Rochdale — 515 605 460 450 460 510 
			 309 Salford — 680 645 615 660 685 660 
			 317 Sefton 585 540 585 560 590 565 650 
			 318 St. Helens 260 190 370 335 355 375 350 
			 310 Stockport 610 565 810 1,200 935 970 1,125 
			 311 Tameside 450 1,160 885 650 690 660 655 
			 312 Trafford 10 295 630 315 380 410 405 
			 313 Wigan — 780 705 705 760 765 855 
			 319 Wirral 740 735 780 745 765 765 770 
			  
			   Yorkshire and the Humber
			   Shire counties
			 218 North Yorkshire 1,330 1,645 1,450 1,195 1,315 1,275 1,305 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 214 East Riding 415 575 730 730 720 745 740 
			 215 Kingston-upon-Hull 595 545 535 535 535 520 530 
			 216 N E Lincolnshire 235 420 365 370 345 365 385 
			 217 N Lincolnshire 630 275 320 405 405 405 385 
			 219 York 355 325 415 415 390 435 425 
			  
			   Metropolitan districts
			 204 Barnsley 410 480 525 520 430 460 530 
			 209 Bradford — 870 1,045 1,025 1,185 1,375 1,385 
			 210 Calderdale 395 425 545 415 470 490 530 
			 205 Doncaster 440 495 505 480 540 595 655 
			 211 Kirklees 1,085 1,330 1,030 950 960 1,020 955 
			 212 Leeds 1,360 1,720 1,680 1,590 1,505 1,590 1,545 
			 206 Rotherham 535 530 555 590 670 630 655 
			 207 Sheffield 1,095 1,205 1,140 785 890 1,135 1,215 
			 213 Wakefield 545 770 625 965 755 695 740 
			  
			   East Midlands
			   Shire counties
			 506 Derbyshire 1,765 1,570 1,630 1,960 1,855 1,925 1,915 
			 508 Leicestershire 1,075 1,225 1,045 1,080 1,090 1,165 1,255 
			 503 Lincolnshire 1,400 1,465 1,590 1,795 1,205 1,485 1,560 
			 504 Northamptonshire 1,010 1,030 1,295 1,455 1,555 1,700 1,525 
			 511 Nottinghamshire 1,810 1,710 1,675 1,855 2,045 2,145 2,125 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 507 Derby 450 440 530 550 555 560 610 
			 509 Leicester 385 575 675 785 860 850 870 
			 512 Nottingham — — 1,090 700 600 780 800 
			 510 Rutland 70 70 75 50 60 55 65 
			  
			   West Midlands
			   Shire counties
			 417 Shropshire 725 610 735 805 840 805 780 
			 413 Staffordshire 1,050 1,105 1,440 1,435 1,580 1,555 1,710 
			 404 Warwickshire 820 855 935 990 1,090 935 1,005 
			 416 Worcestershire — 1,020 1,305 1,285 1,780 1,415 1,760 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 415 Herefordshire 395 440 440 450 470 455 475 
			 414 Stoke-on-Trent 325 360 700 785 695 710 660 
			 418 Telford and Wrekin 500 360 390 425 400 425 450 
			  
			   Metropolitan districts
			 406 Birmingham 1,365 1,415 2,035 2,340 2,645 3,095 2,470 
			 407 Coventry — — 470 770 820 830 835 
			 408 Dudley 550 770 740 680 735 780 795 
			 409 Sandwell — — 620 545 585 555 610 
			 410 Solihull 370 390 405 405 455 460 460 
			 411 Walsall 185 485 555 635 600 635 675 
			 412 Wolverhampton 500 500 525 505 490 510 510 
			  
			   South-west
			   Shire counties
			 902 Cornwall 1,185 1,420 1,545 1,805 1,705 1,405 1,320 
			 912 Devon 1,620 1,590 1,730 1,625 1,790 1,775 1,785 
			 809 Dorset 660 775 755 815 765 785 700 
			 904 Gloucestershire 1,090 1,045 1,170 1,310 1,240 1,320 1,455 
			 906 Isles of Scilly 0 (3)— 0 0 (3)— 0 (3)— 
			 905 Somerset 1,495 1,505 1,625 1,380 1,440 1,435 1,455 
			 817 Wiltshire 2,720 930 1,190 1,500 1,205 1,125 1,120 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 908 Bath and N E Somerset — 470 445 440 415 430 475 
			 810 Bournemouth 445 365 335 435 440 410 440 
			 909 Bristol 980 1,170 1,330 1,005 930 810 1,065 
			 910 North Somerset 260 420 495 570 495 440 415 
			 913 Plymouth — 685 625 555 600 680 715 
			 811 Poole 270 270 310 345 415 380 385 
			 911 South Gloucestershire 420 485 545 585 655 730 705 
			 819 Swindon 450 530 480 460 445 485 505 
			 914 Torbay 290 280 325 350 345 370 365 
			  
			   Eastern
			   Shire counties
			 610 Bedfordshire 175 200 220 810 990 805 915 
			 623 Cambridgeshire 965 960 980 965 1,030 1,070 1,135 
			 620 Essex 2,605 2,905 3,120 3,165 — 3,270 3,360 
			 606 Hertfordshire 2,435 2,620 2,705 2,770 2,490 2,475 2,450 
			 607 Norfolk 1,685 1,905 1,790 2,015 1,265 2,130 2,175 
			 609 Suffolk 195 235 1,175 1,255 1,420 1,475 1,405 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 611 Luton 215 265 275 315 365 385 370 
			 624 Peterborough 335 365 495 500 435 410 400 
			 621 Southend 350 370 440 500 460 440 500 
			 622 Thurrock 235 300 280 290 270 285 275 
			  
			   London
			   Inner London
			 702 Camden 455 460 450 425 380 380 385 
			 703 Greenwich 545 500 455 545 600 550 560 
			 704 Hackney 415  425 415 505 515 530 
			 705 Hammersmith and Fulham 255 245 255 295 280 290 300 
			 706 Islington 310 405 410 435 445 435 440 
			 707 Kensington and Chelsea 240 260 245 255 250 255 255 
			 708 Lambeth 590 530 605 625 610 820 645 
			 709 Lewisham 510 530 835 840 790 805 520 
			 710 Southwark 485 515 610 715 600 745 730 
			 711 Tower Hamlets 245 340 315 375 355 405 505 
			 712 Wandsworth 640 575 805 820 690 730 1,050 
			 713 Westminster 370 365 355 375 430 460 475 
			 714 City of London 10 15 10 10 10 10 10 
			  
			   Outer London
			 716 Barking and Dagenham 215 260 285 290 355 365 275 
			 717 Barnet 1,015 985 540 535 590 700 715 
			 718 Bexley 685 575 700 695 465 435 455 
			 719 Brent 600 875 560 640 485 520 725 
			 720 Bromley 595 730 750 650 710 815 915 
			 721 Croydon 815 550 1,010 1,060 1,055 1,075 1,080 
			 722 Ealing 680 650 370 440 450 590 700 
			 723 Enfield 495 480 500 535 580 595 610 
			 724 Haringey 575 495 490 475 460 505 585 
			 725 Harrow 290 380 415 455 455 450 470 
			 726 Havering 350 335 380 430 435 460 460 
			 727 Hillingdon 540 500 470 515 545 510 515 
			 728 Hounslow 365 405 440 515 545 490 485 
			 729 Kingston-upon-Thames 375 340 180 300 315 340 330 
			 730 Merton 380 375 340 355 410 410 430 
			 731 Newham 375 460 500 510 500 580 585 
			 732 Redbridge 490 465 495 505 600 590 635 
			 733 Richmond upon Thames 335 310 320 355 335 345 360 
			 734 Sutton 290 320 410 420 425 385 460 
			 735 Waltham Forest 565 455 350 370 425 460 490 
			  
			   South-east
			   Shire counties
			 612 Buckinghamshire 705 740 840 1,025 885 915 975 
			 815 East Sussex 1,225 855 1,070 1,040 1,050 1,150 1,195 
			 812 Hampshire 1,990 2,600 3,035 2,815 3,310 3,185 2,795 
			 820 Kent 2,970 3,210 3,630 3,355 3,805 3,755 4,085 
			 608 Oxfordshire — — — 1,110 1,155 1,205 1,380 
			 805 Surrey — — 4,155 — — 3,070 2,635 
			 807 West Sussex 260 215 310 1,815 1,160 1,265 1,370 
			  
			   Unitary authorities
			 614 Bracknell Forest 190 210 170 220 180 275 320 
			 816 Brighton and Hove 510 605 575 605 635 625 635 
			 803 Isle of Wight 410 350 390 450 545 365 515 
			 821 Medway Towns 460 480 345 475 360 650 570 
			 613 Milton Keynes 30 280 290 355 320 350 390 
			 813 Portsmouth 375 405 450 450 480 430 450 
			 616 Reading 285 350 360 435 365 380 340 
			 617 Slough 255 300 275 280 300 330 315 
			 814 Southampton 485 455 460 535 500 500 535 
			 615 West Berkshire 300 305 290 300 340 365 360 
			 618 Windsor and Maidenhead 210 260 315 350 350 425 315 
			 619 Wokingham 395 320 380 360 385 410 415 
			 '—' = Missing data (1) Data includes clients formerly in receipt of preserved rights. (2) Guidance was re-stated in 2004-05 figures previous from years are not comparable. (3) Five or less (or less than 50 for national and regional totals).  Notes: 1. The England totals are estimates. 2. Figures may not add up because of rounding. 3. Regional and national totals may not be equal to the sum of the council level figures due to the use of estimates when the council did not fully complete the return.  Source: RAP proforma P1

Personal Income

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate the National Statistician has made of month by month increases in  (a) wages,  (b) consumer prices index and  (c) retail price index for each month since January 2007 onwards compared with (i) the previous month and (ii) the same month a year earlier.

Phil Hope: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 22 May 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question asking what estimate has been made of month by month increases in a) wages, b) the consumer prices index (CPI) and c) the retail prices index (RPI) for each month since January 2007 onwards compared with i) the previous month and ii) the same month a year earlier. (206686)
	The required information on wages can be found by using our Average Earnings Index. Tables 15 and 16 of the following link give comparisons with the same month a year earlier, while comparisons with the previous month are provided in the attached table
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0508.pdf
	The required information on the CPI and RPI can be found in tables 3.2 and 3.3 (CPI) and 4.2 and 4.3 (RPI) of the following link.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/Focus_on_CPI_April_2008.pdf
	
		
			   Percentage 
			  2007  
			 January 0.3 
			 February 1.1 
			 March -0.8 
			 April 0.1 
			 May 0.5 
			 June 0.5 
			 July 0.3 
			 August 0.5 
			 September 0.5 
			 October 0 
			 November 0.4 
			 December 0.4 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 0.5 
			 February 0.9 
			 March 0.1

Iraq: Children

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment his Department has made of children's healthcare services in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Since 2003, DFID has continually monitored the state of Iraq's healthcare services—including those for children. The Iraqi healthcare system already faced enormous challenges before the 2003 conflict. We recognise the serious need for improvements in child healthcare provision, including immunisation, potable water, food and nutrition and access for women and children to primary health care.
	The Iraqi Government supported by the international community, is seeking to address these issues. For example, a five-year health plan has been drafted with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a maternal child strategy and family health plans to move to a primary health care model with an emphasis on prevention and away from the present hospital based care system. The UN, led by UNICEF, is supporting the Iraqi Government's efforts to improve nutrition rates in Iraq through a variety of programmes including infant feeding campaigns, immunisation and the provision of medical supplies.
	Since 2003 the UK has contributed a total of £70 million to the UN and World Bank Trust funds, which together are spending a total of $180 million in the health care sector. We have also contributed £5 million to the WHO. We also support humanitarian agencies including the International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and World Food Programme who also provide emergency relief to the 2.7 million internally displaced persons living in Iraq, including to children and other vulnerable groups (orphans, elderly, single headed female households). This year we have committed £17 million of funding for humanitarian assistance programmes, including £3 million to UNICEF's emergency programme to provide assistance to Iraqi children.

Capital Punishment

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the use of the death penalty with the governments of  (a) China,  (b) Iran,  (c) Saudi Arabia,  (d) Pakistan and  (e) the USA.

Meg Munn: The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle and we are committed to working with all EU partners towards universal abolition.
	In China, we welcome the Supreme People's Court's central review of death penalty cases since 1 January 2007 which has reportedly led to a reduction in executions, but continue to urge the Chinese government to make public statistics and to reduce the scope of the death penalty. We did this most recently at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue at the end of January. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister also raised the death penalty with Chinese Premier Wen during his visit to China in January.
	We are deeply concerned by the increasing use of the death penalty in Iran and its continued use for juvenile offenders and we regularly raise this with the Iranian authorities in bilateral meetings and through the EU. Most recently, in a meeting with the Iranian ambassador on 1 April, my hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, called on Iran to limit its use of the death penalty and raised concerns about articles of Iran's draft penal code which would make apostasy punishable by death. We have supported several EU statements and demarches this year about the general use of the death penalty in Iran and individual death penalty cases.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, raised the issue of the death penalty during his visit to Saudi Arabia in February 2008.
	The UK delegation to the UN Human Rights Council raised the issue of the death penalty with Pakistan as part of the Universal Periodic Review that Pakistan underwent on 8 May. The UK delegation urged the Government of Pakistan to review the use of the death penalty, with a view to a moratorium and abolition, in order to implement the UN General Assembly resolution adopted in December 2007 calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The UK, with our EU partners, will continue to lobby the Government of Pakistan against the use of capital punishment.
	Our officials in the US continue to monitor the use of the death penalty in the US and make representations bilaterally or with EU partners on specific cases where the circumstances warrant them. The EU last took action in the case of Lynd  v. Georgia on 2 May 2008, sending a letter to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles appealing for clemency.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 25 May to monitor the  (a) treatment and  (b) risk of torture of Mr Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea; and whether he has received reports that Mr Mann is still being continuously shackled.

Meg Munn: holding answer 20 May 2008
	 Our consul from the British deputy high commission in Lagos was refused consular access to Simon Mann during his last visit to Equatorial Guinea in March. We have expressed our concern to the Equatorial Guinea authorities and are urgently seeking another consular visit. We have not been informed whether Mr. Mann is still being continuously shackled. His welfare remains our primary concern.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of contacts with Mr Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea by any  (a) diplomatic officials,  (b) media staff and  (c) other personnel independent of the Equatorial Guinea authorities since Mr Mann's appearance on Channel 4 News; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 20 May 2008
	 We received reports from the Equatorial Guinea authorities that a media team was allowed access to Mr. Mann on one occasion in March. We have no information that any diplomatic officials or personnel independent of the Equatorial Guinea authorities have visited Mr. Mann.

Zimbabwe: Elections

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to co-ordinate a mission of international observers to be sent to Zimbabwe; and when a mission is expected to be in place.

Meg Munn: holding answer 12 May 2008
	We are urging the Government of Zimbabwe to invite the widest range of international observers, including from the Southern African Development Community countries and the African Union, for any second round of the elections. Once deployed, we will press for all observer teams and missions to fully co-ordinate their efforts including with local observers on the ground.